AFTERWORD
Sound requires motion — a vibrating string, a speaker cone pulsing back & forth, the clapping of two hands arriving together. Photographs demand the opposite, observing an instant in time only to pin it still.
Sound OFF is a project investigating both motion and stillness through a series of photographs taken between 2018 and 2023. We have both been lucky enough to find a home in nightlife communities, but were forced to expand our attention beyond the dancefloor by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through photography, we continued to search for harmony and rhythm amidst our collective disquiet. This project functions as a digestion of our emotions as we oscillated between dancing and being at rest.
While this project is a snapshot of ourselves during a particular time, it is just as much a reflection on how important the nightlife community is. We hope it captures the gratitude we feel for the friends we’ve made, both on and off the dancefloor.
Sound OFF is a project investigating both motion and stillness through a series of photographs taken between 2018 and 2023. We have both been lucky enough to find a home in nightlife communities, but were forced to expand our attention beyond the dancefloor by the COVID-19 pandemic. Through photography, we continued to search for harmony and rhythm amidst our collective disquiet. This project functions as a digestion of our emotions as we oscillated between dancing and being at rest.
While this project is a snapshot of ourselves during a particular time, it is just as much a reflection on how important the nightlife community is. We hope it captures the gratitude we feel for the friends we’ve made, both on and off the dancefloor.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This project started when Maggie Walker and Monica Finc gifted us a gallery for a weekend and told us we had to fill it with our photography. They pushed us to actually go through with this project. There is no way to thank them enough.
Special thanks to Robin Crookall for helping us think about how to choose photos, how to (literally) put art on a wall, how to do a ruthless edit, and how to have fun.
Thanks to Ben Kothe for teaching us about how to both think about and admire a well-made book.
Thanks to Taylor Loutsis and to Ryan Stewart for the work on both the book and on the physical gallery that it captured. We couldn’t have been in better hands.
And of course, thanks to Arnav, Corey, Erick, J, Jeff, Jeremy, Nico, Roddy, Salenta, Sam, and Vesolo for letting us take your pictures.
Special thanks to Robin Crookall for helping us think about how to choose photos, how to (literally) put art on a wall, how to do a ruthless edit, and how to have fun.
Thanks to Ben Kothe for teaching us about how to both think about and admire a well-made book.
Thanks to Taylor Loutsis and to Ryan Stewart for the work on both the book and on the physical gallery that it captured. We couldn’t have been in better hands.
And of course, thanks to Arnav, Corey, Erick, J, Jeff, Jeremy, Nico, Roddy, Salenta, Sam, and Vesolo for letting us take your pictures.
COLOPHON
WRITING & PHOTOGRAPHY
Salem Hilal
Ryc Oca
ISBN
979-8-218-19435-2
COPYRIGHT
First Edition © 2023
CAMERAS & LENSES
Olympus Mju-ii
Zeiss Ikon ZM
Voigtländer Bessa R3M
FujiFilm QuickSnap Flash
Kodak FunSaver
Voigtländer Nokton 40mm f/1.4 MC
Zeiss Planar 50mm f/2
Zeiss Biogon 28mm f/2.8
TYPEFACE
Neue Haas Grotesk,
55 Roman
DESIGN & DIRECTION
Studio Loutsis
studioloutsis.com
FILM DEVELOPMENT
Sammy Photo Lab
NYC Film Lab
SCANNING
NYC Film Lab
PRINTING
Conveyor Arts
conveyor.studio
Salem Hilal
Ryc Oca
ISBN
979-8-218-19435-2
COPYRIGHT
First Edition © 2023
CAMERAS & LENSES
Olympus Mju-ii
Zeiss Ikon ZM
Voigtländer Bessa R3M
FujiFilm QuickSnap Flash
Kodak FunSaver
Voigtländer Nokton 40mm f/1.4 MC
Zeiss Planar 50mm f/2
Zeiss Biogon 28mm f/2.8
TYPEFACE
Neue Haas Grotesk,
55 Roman
DESIGN & DIRECTION
Studio Loutsis
studioloutsis.com
FILM DEVELOPMENT
Sammy Photo Lab
NYC Film Lab
SCANNING
NYC Film Lab
PRINTING
Conveyor Arts
conveyor.studio